Horn title defence in Las Vegas postponed after Crawford injury

WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn’s title defence in Las Vegas next month has been postponed after opponent Terence Crawford injured his hand while sparring, organisers said yesterday.The Australian was due to fight the undefeated American on April 14, but it has now been put back to a yet-to-be-decided date.“Jeff Horn’s scheduled world title defence against highly-rated American Terence Crawford has been postponed,” his team said in a statement.“Crawford suffered an injury to his right hand in a sparring session and a rescheduled date is yet to be determined.”Horn, who upset Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao to take the World Boxing Organisation title last July, said he was disappointed and cast doubt of the seriousness of the injury.“Hopefully it’s an injury he’s had to postpone it for and not a tactic to throw us off our game,” he said. “The Americans are saying he’s such a great fighter, why doesn’t he fight with one hand then.”Horn defended his title in December with an 11th-round stoppage of England’s Gary Corcoran.Crawford is unbeaten in 32 bouts and will move up from the junior welterweight division to welterweight to challenge the Australian.Braehmer plans legal challenge to force Smith boutJurgen Braehmer is planning a legal challenge in the hope of facing Callum Smith in the super-middleweight final of the world boxing super series (WBSS) final.“I’m assuming I’m going to box and I’ve already got my lawyer on the case,” Braehmer told German newspaper the Maerkische Oder Zeitung.“I will prepare intensively for a fight against Smith.”A virus forced Braehmer, 39, out of his WBSS semi-final last month against Liverpool’s undefeated Smith, who beat late stand-in Nieky Holzken on points in Nuremberg.The super-middleweight final is planned for June when Smith, 27, will face fellow Englishman George Groves, 29, but the latter is recovering from shoulder surgery.Reports in the UK media suggest the fight will be rescheduled for July 7 or 14, but Braehmer hopes a legal challenge could see him face Smith.The German is a two-time former light-heavyweight world champion.The WBSS winner will receive the Muhammad Ali Trophy, which carries a 50 million dollars prize fund split over super-middleweight and cruiserweight categories.